Relative of British queen jailed for sex assault at castle

PTI, Feb 23, 2021, 6:46 PM IST

London: A relative of Queen Elizabeth II was sentenced Tuesday to 10 months in prison for sexually assaulting a woman at his ancestral castle in Scotland.

Simon Bowes-Lyon, the Earl of Strathmore, had admitted assaulting the woman in a bedroom at Glamis Castle in February 2020.

Bowes-Lyon, 34, who is a first cousin twice removed of the queen, pleaded guilty last month, saying “greatly ashamed of my actions which have caused such distress to a guest in my home.”

“I did not think I was capable of behaving the way I did but have had to face up to it and take responsibility,” he said.

He was sentenced Tuesday at Dundee Sheriff Court.

Glamis Castle, near Dundee in central Scotland, is the childhood home of the queen’s late mother, who was born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon.